Envelop.



ELKAN A. TANNENIBAUM, 01 DENVER, COLORADO.

ENVELOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1918.

Application filed April 11, 1917. Serial No. 161,109.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELKAN A. TANNEN- BAUM,-3. citizen of the United States, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelops; and I do declare the following to be'a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon,- which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in envelops, and it is my object to present an article of this character which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and one which, when sealed, it will be impossible to open by an unauthorized person without detection.

The article, briefly stated, comprises a single blank formed of comparatively thin paper having narrow strips composed of heavier material applied thereto between transversely disposed rows of perforations the said strips having tips protruding through slits formed in the blank at certain points whereby when the latter is folded to form an envelop and sealed, by pulling upon the tips, either end of the said envelop can be opened or entirely removed so that its contents will be exposed, and, therefore, can

be readily withdrawn.

I also provide rows of perforations disposed adjacent the longitudinal edges of the flaps of the envelop whereby the said flaps cannot be unsealed without mutilating the material comprising the body of the envelop to such an extent that it will be impossible to reseal them without detection.

Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed to .describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof. In this draw- Figure 1 is a view of the rear side of the envelop with the flaps in the sealed position and the extremity of one strip exposed.

Fig. 2 is a view of the front of the envelop showmg the extremity of one of the other strips exposed.

Fig. 3 is a view of the blank which I employ to form my improved envelop.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 44 Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate'the blank in its'entirety which is adapted to form my improved envelop. This blank can be made of comparatively thin paper and comprises a portion 6 which forms the front of the envelop, a. portion 7 constituting the back of the same and the usual sealing flap 8 attached to the front portion 6 and adapted to engage the backportion 7. The front portion 6 is also provided with end flaps 9 adapted to engage the rear surface of the portion 7 in sealing relation.

The blank 5 is provided with two sets or pairs of transversely disposed perforations 10 and 12 arranged in parallel relation and suitably spaced from the edges of the said blank, the portion 7 of the latter being further provided with two single lines of perforations 13 one arranged in close proximity to each of the said sets 10 and 12 and between the latter and the edges of the blank.

Attached to one side of the blank 5 in any suitable manner and between the rows of perforations forming the set 10 is a strip 14 composed of heavier material than the blank is made of and this material may be paper, muslin or the like. This strip extends from the longitudinal edge of the flap 8 to the lower edge of the portion 6 where it passes through a slit 15 and terminates in a tip 16 which may be folded adjacent the front portion 6 for purposes of convenience. Another strip 17 of heavy material is also applied to the blank between the same rows of perforations, the said strip 17 adapted to overlap the lower portion of the strip 1 1 and extend to the lower edge of the portion 7 (referring to Fig. 3). Between the other set of perforations 12 and on the same side of the blank 5 is attached a third strip 18 also of heavy material which extends from the lower edge of the portion 7 (still referring to Fig. 3) to a point adjacentthe longitudinal edge of the flap 8 where it passes through a slit 19 and termmates in a tip 20 adjacent the opposite side of the blank.

In assembling the envelop, the portion 7 of the blank is first folded upon the line 21 after which the flaps 9 of the portion 6 are folded upon the lines 22 and are sealed to the outer surface of the said portion 7, the longitudinal edges of the said flaps 9 terminating between the outer rows of the perforations of the two sets 10 and 12 respectively and the single rows of perforations 13 which will leave the said outer rows of perforations visible, but the single rows 13 concealed. The envelop is now ready to receive an inclosure, after which the flap 8 is folded upon the line .23 and sealed to the outer surface of the portion 7, the said flap 8 overlapping the upper extremities of the flaps 9 and its longitudinal edge terminating between two rows of perforations 24: and 25 formed in the said portion 7 and arranged parallel to each other. This flap 8 will overlap the row 25 while the row 24 will still be visible (see Fig. 1). y

In view of the above arrangement, it would be impossible for one to insert a paper cutter, letter opener or other suitable tool under either of the flaps 8 or 9 and attempt to unseal the same without ripping out the material between the rows of perforations between which the respective edges of the flaps terminate, and thusit would beimpossible to properly reseal the flaps,'and, therefore, any unauthorized attempt to open the envelop could be readily detected. v

The proper way to open the envelop is to grasp one of the tips 16 or 20, and by pulling thereon the material comprising the body of the envelop will be loosened between the rows of perforations and can be readily torn out whereby either end of the envelop can be entirely removed and the contents withdrawn but at the same time it would be impossible to reinsert the said contents and seal the envelop, as one extremity of the latter has already been torn off since the strips by heavier material extend completely around the opposite end of the said envelop. I

Attention is also called to the fact that by pulling upon the tip 16 of the strip 14, the stamp 26 will be mutilated which otters still further protection against surreptitious opening of the envelop.

Furthermore, it should be understood that when the envelop is assembled, the stri s i l, 17 and 18 of heavy material are entire y incl-need therein except from the tip portions 16 and 20, and since these strips are composed of much stouter material than the body of the envelop and extend completely around the same, they will form a strong binding for the said envelop, and, therefore, greatly enhance its durability.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An envelop having two pairs of rows of perforations respectively extending completely around the same in proximity to its end edges, and a strip of pomparatively heavy material applied to the body of the envelop between each pair of rows of perforations, the extremity of one strip protruding through a slit formed in the lower edge of said envelop and terminating in a tip, and while the extremity of the other strip protrudes through the back of the envelop through a slit formed in the top flap and also terminates in a tip.

2. An envelop having two pairs of rows of perforations respectively extendingcompletely around the same in proximity to its end edges, a single strip of comparatively heavy material applied to the body of the envelop between one pair of rows of perforations and two overlapping strips of similar material likewise applied between the other pair of rows of perforations, one

extremity of the single stri protruding through the back of the enve op through a slit formed in the top flap, and one extremity of one of the other strips protruding through a slit formed in the lower edge of the said envelop.

3. An envelop provided with a flap and two rows of perforations formed close to gether in the body of said envelop adjacent to and parallel to an edge of the flap when the latter is in sealed position, one of said ,rows of perforations being visible while the other row is concealed by the flap when sealed, the perforations in each row being suliioiently small and close together that an attempt to break the seal will result in separation along one of the rows of perforations.

l'n testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ELKAN A. TANNENBAUM.

Witnesses:

MARY HIGGINS, A. EennrDlBnreN. 

